Billions in federal spending, largely a result of two foreign wars, were pouring into the local economy by the early 2000s. Then came the housing bubble. But after it burst, a remarkable inversion occurred: as the country withered, Washington bloomed. Since 2007, the regional economy has expanded about three times as much as the overall country’s. By some measures, the Washington area has become the richest region in the country. It is now home to the three highest-income counties in the United States, and seven out of the Top 10.

The idea of a fat and happy Beltway region, powered by tax dollars and home to a political class that’s divorced from the reality of everyday American life, is a staple of populist criticism on the right and the left. Over time, though, it’s become a boilerplate message so overused that it’s largely lost its bite.

Sarah Palin has sharpened it somewhat and more effectively captured the milieu that Lowrey writes about, but her scattershot approach hasn’t quite harnessed the message effectively.

Someone will, however, and some highly potent distillation of it might soon be coming to an election near you.